PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
Four day working week (11 September 2024)

That this House recognises that UK workers put in some of the longest full-time working hours across Europe, yet the longer hours worked are not translating into increased productivity; notes that since the covid-19 pandemic a four-day working week with no reduction in pay for employees has been successfully trialled across the world, including in the UK; believes that, as these trials have shown, a four-day week with no loss of pay could lead to increased productivity, while also bringing benefits to workers, employers, and wider society; welcomes the PCS union's campaign for a pilot of a four-day week with no loss of pay in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA); further notes that the union has already identified a four-day week could save approximately £3.6 million by reducing turnover, equivalent to hiring 2,348 employees, reduce absenteeism by 65 per cent, the equivalent of gaining 328 employees at DEFRA, help parents better balance professional and childcare responsibilities and promote a more equal division of childcare duties, making DEFRA a more inclusive workplace for women and reducing pay and employment disparities, resulting in a significant reduction the in the UK’s carbon footprint; and calls on the Government to take the initiative, that has been shown elsewhere in the public sector, such as in South Cambridgeshire Council - where a pilot showed huge benefits, including cost savings, better staff retention, lower sickness rates and improvements in service delivery - forward, by introducing its own trial in DEFRA.

Sponsored by:
John McDonnell (Independent)